... in a day or two.
Since finding some sun and finally getting ahead of the cold that drove us relentlessly south, we have discovered it is kind of hard to stay in a new place for just a day. Most times these places are so pretty and interesting that they deserve a bit of time. (If they were neither pretty nor interesting we probably wouldn't have bothered stopping in the first place!) Dinner Key, No Name Harbor, Elliot Key, West End, Great Sale Cay, and now Green Turtle Cay (we haven't seen any turtles yet, by the way); each has been just too good a place not to hang around for a bit. Add in the desire not to get caught out someplace when the weather gets too interesting for comfort, the need to find provisions and fuel, or some boat project that simply can't wait any longer, and nearly any stop lasts at least four days. (The exception is the planned overnight stop in a two or three day journey, and even that doesn't always work out as planned. Great Sale Cay was just such a planned overnight. We were there 2 nights and will definitely be there again for an extended stay.)
And so it is that we are still in Green Turtle Cay and will probably be here at least until Monday. Last night the winds blew 25 out of the north pinning us to the dock. Since no one expected the winds to blow that hard all night our courtesy flags and Burgees were left up. (There is some real satisfaction in flying the Boulder Yacht Club flag over the Abaco Islands. I know ... I am such a newbie.) As a result the spreader sawed through the port side flag halyard which then wrapped line and flags around the staysail stay and knotted them up tight. A trip up the mast put things right. But that task added to a unexpectedly long exploration of the local beach with friends we met back in Oriental (who sailed here in their own Tartan 42) meant the engine tasks that should get done before heading out again didn't get done. They could have gotten done except we wanted to attend the benefit Bar-B-Que New Plymouth put on tonight. (Not really sure what the benefit was for, but a good many cruisers were there supporting it and we have really fallen in love with this little town anyway.) So we will not be leaving tomorrow.
Which is okay since we haven't really decided where we want to go next. There are some spots behind us that we passed up, spots we really want to see. Then there are some spots ahead of us, spots we also really want to see that also happen to be in the direction we need to go eventually anyway. Since the Abaco Islands are where we live for now, and there is no real need to be living somewhere else for a while, we will probably spend a week or more back tracking, with some thought of returning to a Black Sound mooring ball in time to wait out the next weather event.
As time goes on I hope to get better at sitting out weather on the hook in a well chosen and protected anchorage. The night spent next to Mangrove Cay proved there is some learning curve left to climb when it comes to that particular skill. Still, let's be honest, every day that one is on the hook somewhere human civilization isn't, one isn't spending any money. Not spending money is near and dear to a budget cruiser's heart. The more days money stays in the account, the more days can be spent living this life.
And so, on to the next place ... in a day or two.
Since finding some sun and finally getting ahead of the cold that drove us relentlessly south, we have discovered it is kind of hard to stay in a new place for just a day. Most times these places are so pretty and interesting that they deserve a bit of time. (If they were neither pretty nor interesting we probably wouldn't have bothered stopping in the first place!) Dinner Key, No Name Harbor, Elliot Key, West End, Great Sale Cay, and now Green Turtle Cay (we haven't seen any turtles yet, by the way); each has been just too good a place not to hang around for a bit. Add in the desire not to get caught out someplace when the weather gets too interesting for comfort, the need to find provisions and fuel, or some boat project that simply can't wait any longer, and nearly any stop lasts at least four days. (The exception is the planned overnight stop in a two or three day journey, and even that doesn't always work out as planned. Great Sale Cay was just such a planned overnight. We were there 2 nights and will definitely be there again for an extended stay.)
And so it is that we are still in Green Turtle Cay and will probably be here at least until Monday. Last night the winds blew 25 out of the north pinning us to the dock. Since no one expected the winds to blow that hard all night our courtesy flags and Burgees were left up. (There is some real satisfaction in flying the Boulder Yacht Club flag over the Abaco Islands. I know ... I am such a newbie.) As a result the spreader sawed through the port side flag halyard which then wrapped line and flags around the staysail stay and knotted them up tight. A trip up the mast put things right. But that task added to a unexpectedly long exploration of the local beach with friends we met back in Oriental (who sailed here in their own Tartan 42) meant the engine tasks that should get done before heading out again didn't get done. They could have gotten done except we wanted to attend the benefit Bar-B-Que New Plymouth put on tonight. (Not really sure what the benefit was for, but a good many cruisers were there supporting it and we have really fallen in love with this little town anyway.) So we will not be leaving tomorrow.
Which is okay since we haven't really decided where we want to go next. There are some spots behind us that we passed up, spots we really want to see. Then there are some spots ahead of us, spots we also really want to see that also happen to be in the direction we need to go eventually anyway. Since the Abaco Islands are where we live for now, and there is no real need to be living somewhere else for a while, we will probably spend a week or more back tracking, with some thought of returning to a Black Sound mooring ball in time to wait out the next weather event.
As time goes on I hope to get better at sitting out weather on the hook in a well chosen and protected anchorage. The night spent next to Mangrove Cay proved there is some learning curve left to climb when it comes to that particular skill. Still, let's be honest, every day that one is on the hook somewhere human civilization isn't, one isn't spending any money. Not spending money is near and dear to a budget cruiser's heart. The more days money stays in the account, the more days can be spent living this life.
And so, on to the next place ... in a day or two.
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